Wotan sing-off - 11 basses and baritones sing Wotan's Abschied
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- Опубліковано 28 лип 2024
- Eleven basses and baritones sing one of the most famous lines in all of opera:
"Wer meines Speeres Spitze fürchtet, durchschreite das Feuer nie!"
Your Wotans---of the past, present, and future---are, in chronological order of performance:
1. Friedrich Schorr - 1940, Metropolitan Opera, c. Erich Leinsdorf
2. Hans Hotter - 1955; London Recording, c. Leopold Ludwig
3. Jerome Hines - 1960; Bayreuth Festival, c. Rudolf Kempe
4. Theo Adam - 1965; Bayreuth Festival, c. Karl Bohm
5. Thomas Stewart - 1969; Bayreuth Festival, c. Lorin Maazel
6. Donald McIntyre - 1974; Bayreuth Festival, c. Horst Stein
7. Sigmund Nimsgern - 1986; Bayreuth Festival, c. Peter Schneider
8. James Morris - 1993; Metropolitan Opera, c. James Levine
9. John Tomlinson - 1995; Bayreuth Festival, c. James Levine
10. Rene Pape - 2008; NDR Concert appearance, c. Alan Gilbert
11. Albert Dohmen - 2008; Bayreuth Festival, c. Christian Thielemann
Enjoy!
Certainly some amazing voices here... But HOW COULD YOU LEAVE OUT GEORGE LONDON... probably the greatest vocal Wotan of all. Tomlinson in this recording sounds the most like him. Gotta love just the sheer elegance of Rene Pape and the overwhelming authority of that basso profundo Hines though. We have been so blessed to have so many wonderful performances to indulge our senses. Wonderful!!
George London is a gigantic omission. I heard him at the old Met as Wotan.
The greatest wotan ever, George London!!!!!!
100%
Wow one of my favorite moments in all of Wagner with all these great bass baritones singing ! it is as if Wotan is singing Seigfried into existence and why not he’s his grandfather
As others have pointed out pity we don’t hear an example of George London singing this
Beautifully said.
Jerome Hines is in a class by himself! Absolutely the most stunning considering sheer weight and authority of voice. Hotter and Tomlinson are wonderful, too. Where the hell is George London in this list?
... Certainly! where is London?
Though it is said he couldn’t act.
@@chrishaines1677 Is it said? By whom? I'd never heard such a thing.
I'm with you on that!
Yes, Ferdinand Frantz needs to be added. He is my all time favorite.
Friedrich Schor was the Melchior of baritones. This performance must have been a live performance that's why he's covered by the orchestra. My dad said even Melchior didn't dominate the orchestra in the hall!
Very good list. Simon Estes recorded Wotan live. I just listened to it and he is the winner in my opinion.
George London please!!!!
George London
I am fond of James Morris' rendition. (the one in this clip is not a good example) He has a ton of power behind his voice and his emotion in Wotan's farewell gets me every time!
I never heard Morris live. But on the Levine DVDs I find him always a bit disappointing. His German is not very good. In this clip he does a very weird thing with the word "nie" (the last not on the E). My choice for Wotan would always be Hotter.
Among all those greats finaly I came to love two Wotans especialy.
Surprisingly - or not surprisingly - they are the two that for me carry the most dramatic interpretation into the roles. Looks like loud or beautifull singing comes second for me.
Stewart and Tomlinson both here and in the respective full rings ( Karajan and Barenboim/Kupfer ) are the greatest of the 20th century to me.
Even in his prime Schorr had great beauty of sound and interpretative skill, but a short top. In many of the late live recordings you wonder why he was still being hired. And very ironic he should have been Cornell MacNeil’s teacher!
Amazing and beautiful!Thanks so much for posting this!
Very good choices, but you missed George London. I like the video!
all great, diverse shadowing of the words ... like having great actors read out 'To be, or not to be, that is the question.' Yet, Tomlinson, witnessed live at Bayreuth in the Kupfer production of the 90's, was unforgettable ... totally so!
Thanks a lot for putting this together!
Great video! Even though there is no complete recording with him, Kipnis' Wotan is brilliant!
Hines, then Hotter! Thank you for this lovely compilation..
Thank you, it is a good idea this comparison between these Wotans !
If George London, one of the greatest, is missing, we could add Rudolf Bockelman, Hans Hermann Nissen, Georg Hann, too much unknown today, and for after the WWII, Ferdinand Frantz (THE Wotan of Furtwängler), Sigurd Björling (no kinship with Jüssi), Alexander Kipnis, Ludwig Weber, a very dark Wotan, Lawrence Tibbett, and even Cesare Siepi, who never sang the role on stage but made a very good recording of the "Abschied"...
As well as Hans Reinmar and Joel Berglund. Mark Reizen never sang it on stage, but made a magnificent recording. Uhde was good too.
Also, Nicola Rossi Lemeni, Luciano Neroni, Boris Christoff, and Marcel Journet, who is the best French Wotan ever.
Just forgot the best one: George London!
Decca recording with Nilsson and conducting by Leinsdorf
Greer Grimsley is the sleeping giant amongst modern day Wotans.
I had the great fortune of seeing Die Walkrie live at the Met in NYC during Levine's direction. It was a special night as James Morris took the night off for Donald McIntyre (along with Hildegard Behrens) to reprise their Bayreuth roles. It was a magical night and to this day the most amazing stage performance I've had the pleasure of watching.
Where are George London, Ferdinand Frantz and Alexander Kipnis?....
And Hans Reinmar or Rudolf Bockermann? This Wotan video is not complete
Kipnis!
Excelentes todos, buen video
It is so difficult to compare singers of different eras and different acoustic environments and recording technology. For me the ultimate test is what I call the "earwax" standard. Does the voice make my earwax dance IN THE ACTUAL HALL? Based on these recordings, I would rate John Tomlinson tops. But it is a modern recording. People who heard Hans Hotter in the flesh say he sang and looked, truly, like a god.
This particular passage was owned by George London. Here the whole Abschied with the fabulous Vienna Philharmonic under Knappertsbusch: ua-cam.com/video/2Ojhx-cFsJw/v-deo.html
Absolutely!
The best rendition I've ever heard.
@@brunegilda2453 Glad you enjoyed it! Another tremendous interpretation (besides all the great Wagner roles) is his Scarpia in Tosca, with Renata Tebaldi and Mario del Monaco. It's absolutely phenomenal. London's Don Giovanni (both in German and Italian) was also a true force of nature.
Thank you for this compilation. My dream Wotans include Nazzareno de Angelis and Lawrence Tibbett.
John
Tibbett was a baritone, though.
Thanks for the reply. I understand completely. I know London sang Wotan live, but the only recording of him is in studio.
Schorr was WAY passed his best years when he recorded this. Toscanini fired him from the Salzburg Meistersinger because he sounded so bad and hired Nissen instead.
Ideally it should be sung a very big, commanding voice. Basses have that, but very few basses can sustain the play's high tessitura. Bass-baritones are the most advantaged here, since they still have darkness and depth, while being better able to cope with singing higher.
Pity my favourite is not included - Boris Christoff live in concert with RAI Torino orchestra and Alfredo Simonetto, 1954.
Anyway, great compilation of voices. And this line together with powerful orchestra afterwards is certainly one of the greatest opera moments ever composed.
Thomas Steward wins my heart from all listed here. Perhaps because I love his performance in the studio recording of Karajan and this live performance is by no means worse, if not better actually.
Thanks for posting.
I have seen James Morris perform this live several times as well as on DVD. He does the most incredibly heart rending performance of this emotional farewell. The volume in this montage is lower for him than for some of the others soit is hard to fairly compare. I think he is as great as any who has ever sung this role. He has my vote.
I love James Morris too and have heard him as Wotan. I have the Met DVD ring cycle with him as Wotan and he is fabulous.. and you're right this recording does not do him Justice. I didn't even recognize his voice
Jerome Hines hands down!!!!
George London, Hans Sotin, Ferdinand Frantz.
My favorite is not on this list. Where's Ferdinand Franz? Anyway, I think Jerry Hines rules!
Musique d'un génie de l'opéra ! Sans doute le plus grand parmi les grands !!!!
Me pregunto por qué no Ferdinand Frantz? Él formó parte del elenco de Die Valküre dirigida por Furtwängler 1954, uno de los mejores roles de Wotan que he oído...
Por cierto de esta lista sobresalen Hotter y Tomlinson
Le plus beau Wotan de tous les temps Georges London.
1. Tomlinson, 2. Hotter, 3. Hines. I miss London too, but mostly I miss Terje Stensvold which in my opinion (the most overlooked, present Wotan) sings the part great and probably made one of the latest Wotan debuts ever (although his dutchman is better I think). His performance in Stockholm in 2005 was awsome!!
Terje Stensvold was a deeply touching Wotan in the " Frankfurter Ring"!
Where are Ferdinand Frantz, and George London?
Thats good to hear that there are better recordings of Schorr. My God ... he was Cornell MacNeil's teacher! On this one he sounds like a first year voice major!
@BassHaritone Amen to that. Mr Grimsley was absolutely astounding in the 2009 Seattle cycle.
Sadly, missing the Extraordinary George London.
Yes. Terfel gave a remarkable performance of this in Lucerne with Abbado-even though he is not a high bass as demanded he has all qualities to shine in this-as he did. You may also like to listen to american bariton Tibbett here on youtube-very large, firm and ringing voice with Wotans farewell. And believe it or not the great Siepi sang this, too. Still- nobody holds a candle to George London in this one.
Hans Hotter immenso, senza dubbio il più grande Wotan! Terrificante James Morris...orrore. Manca però alla lista l'ottima interpretazione di George London e quella più recente di Juha Usitalo
Hotter rules !!!
yes
Thank you for the interesting comparison! May I inquire as to why you left out the two greatest renditions of this line, those from Lawrence Tibbett and George London?
Where Is George London ?????????
The Best You Missed George London
Yes! And Hans Sotin too!
Hehe, I know were you're coming from; Morris has never had a beautfiul sound, though admittedly, for some reason, I like his singing. Nevertheless, Tomlinson also takes the cake for me, even though I consider Hotter legendary. Sir John actually sounds like a god when singing this, even with such a high tessitura; and he's not even a bass-baritone but a true bass.
"Quien de mi lanza temor sienta - - que no se atreva a atravesar"
"Quien sienta temor de la punta de mi lanza, jamás atraviese el fuego".
Hands down Jerome Hines !!!!!!!!
This clip came up again on my list and it occurs to me to comment on how difficult the last word ‘nie’ is to sing. It’s an E natural, either just after or precisely where the singer covers depending on his voice. Here I think the ones who try to preserve the pure ‘ee’ come to grief with a squeezed tone that threatens to crack. But you can’t sing ‘nah’ without sounding ridiculous. It’s a problem.
luciano neroni is the most spectcular wotan-voice i`ve ever heard !
With the set of Günther Schneider-Siemssen at the end !
McIntyre
El único que emite correctamente su voz SIN INTUBARLA es Theo Adam...Comparar con Stracciari, y Feodor Chaleapin . . . . . . .
I prefer Hotter, Tomlinson and Hines. I found that Thomas Stewart looks like he could be Jon Vikers brother...similar shaped head and interestingly I hear a similar timbre in the voice albeit it lower. Great voices! 👍
Jeremy Masters:
Wotan is the father of Siegmund! No wonder, when they look like, haha!
Hotter is sublime, the best in these selections here! But Fr. Scorr was even greater, in this MET Matinee he was at the end of his career, there are better recordings of him from Europe in the early 30s. But who is really missing is the immense Rudolf Bockelmann - just find his ACT III Covent Garden 1937 live reconding with Flagstad under Furtwangler and you will understand.
Not really possible to judge very well from these clips, as the vocals are at such inconsistent levels relative to the orchestras. Hotter is definitely the most prominent in the mix, though.
Nimsgern is an excellent Alberich...
I vote Tomlinson. He also has a delicious speaking voice.
Ce court extrait illustre de manière sublime l'art inimitable de Wagner ( orchestration , utilisation des "leitmotive " etc ... ) ....je ne m'en lasse pas !!!!! Bien sûr , il y a d'autres "Wotan " tout aussi remarquables : G. London , Bryn Terfel pour ne citer qu'eux !!!!!!
Byrn Terfel ?! il n'a jamais été un Wotan vocalement.
Per mí el millor, i per altres tants, George London.
The best here is Schorr (not in this recording), but this list is incomplete without George London!
Wotan is a a hybride role, a baritone is often to light, a basso faces Problems with the tessitura.All of the singers are doing a great job. I miss London. I enjoyed Hines, Adam, but also Pape and Tomlinson. Stewart and McIntyre both great singers seem to be rather light. Same for Schorr (although difficult to judge). Hotter's voice is sometimes wobbly when attacking. Still a giant.
George London with Hans Knappertsbusch is the best!
Indeed.
manca George London ! clamoroso!
John Tomlinson for me .. heard live at the live bar of the Bayreuther Festspielhuas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by which of course I mean Tibbett never sang Wotan live in its ENTIRETY. I'm aware of his doing it in concert (the whole abschied at least), but singing all of Act 2 and 3 is much more demanding than singing the last ten minutes. It's just the purist in me...
Wo ist Hans Reinmar und Evgeni Nikitin ? Ihr Gesang ist einer der lyrischsten und schönsten.
Theo Adam is my best Wotan
2.Morris verry great
3.Hotter
Tomlinson!
Tomlinson has a voice for Alberich. Not for Wotan!
Where's George London?
pretty simple, tibbett never sang wotan live as far as I know. it's more interesting to compare them after singing for the entire time than in a selection.
I think he sang it at the Hollywood Bowl.
Greer Grimsley will FINALLY sing Wotan at the Met
Of the also-rans, Dieskau never sang it live, London barely had a chance before his health problems set in. Of those who sang it long and well, I pick Hotter for his monumentality and overall mastery; Stewart for intensity, imaginative detail, and surprising ferocity; Adam for all-round professionalism and reliability; and Tomlinson for his cavernous sound and rascally humor. The one contemporary who DOES belong here is Uusitalo - for handsome, comprehensive, consistently cultivated vocalism.
George London's career was tragically cut short (I witnessed one of the first performances as Wotan when his voice painfully fell apart.) But his recordings Rheingold and Walkure are forever--and I heard him sing The Wanderer in his prime. He was indescribably great.
There is a recording of Schorr singing this from the late 1920s that is remarkably good. Schorr and Hotter are the class of the group. It is too bad that many only know Hotter from the Solti Ring where he was well past his prime. Ferdinand Frantz was not included and he's not that far behind Hotter and Schorr. Norman Bailey is another Wotan omitted. Bailey is probably up there with Schorr and Hotter. You can hear Bailey either in the Goodall Ring or in a separate performance of this excerpt with Otto Klemperer.
Tomlinson has some of the greatest material of any singer ever. HIs technique for his high notes is sub optimal though, he could be absolutely godly.
@mwoodward221 Is there a recording of Fischer-Dieskau singing the Walkure Wotan? If so, would love to hear it.
Robert Brook I hope not. F-D would have been flagrantly miscast in that part.
Not the whole opera, but he did perform Wotan's farewell: ua-cam.com/video/hhrkkzV0zho/v-deo.html
....George London?
Hotter, Hines, London, & perhaps (in his prime voice) one should include McIntyre as well. For sheer voice (circa 1990) I would include James Morris & although I have not heard if Rene Pape has taken Wotan on, I would imagine he could also be included in this list were he choose to do so. With apologies to the late John Steane, I do not find Friedrich Schorr (circa the 1940 Recording) to be a contender here. Perhaps some 5 to 10 years earlier but not in that present excerpt. His contemporary Bockelmann would belong on this list. As for Nimsgern or some later singers, they might have some positive attributes but not enough for these to be included on this list. A word about George London though. Although he was beginning to have vocal problems sometime after he began recording Wotan complete, there are enough fine examples of him singing this music when he was younger to realize his awesome potential for this role
Hotter sounds quite good. He gets into the phrase so emotionally he loses a bit of focus in the voice, but recovers. Nimsgern ... hmmm ... Pat ... can I buy a vowel please?
Lmao Nimsgern is sooo nasal.
So, is there a definitive answer as to which voice is better for Wotan? Bass, Bass-Baritone, Baritone?
helius69 Baritone, albeit one at the low end of the baritone spectrum, and very rich and very powerful. Think of Schorr, Bockelmann, Nissen, Tibbett, and Hotter when he was a baritone (before about 1959). The Wotan tessitura is too high for a bass unless the bass is just deep enough to make the bass spectrum at its upper end, like London and Robert Hale. I do not recognize or use the term "bass-baritone". A non-tenor man is either a bass or a baritone; there is always a prejudice one way or the other, however slight and however difficult to detect.
Oh, well, don't need to hear that again for a little while...
Is not the conductor of Bayreuth 1995 D. Barenboim?
Your playlist given I have to vote for Hines-his voice has nobless and sonority and adequate strength and authority. Hotter is close second. Pape`s voice is basically well-suited for Wotan- an elegant bass not on the heavy side and with good dynamic range, but i feel he lacks a bit of force here. But of course, as mentioned by others and rightly so, the unsurpassed singer in that role is missing here-George London.
I think Schorr sounds awful mostly because of the sound quality, he's known to have been great; however, wher indeed are Frantz and Bailey? And George London, and Alan Titus? Heck, even more recent ones like Falk Struckmann, Juha Uusitalo, and Vitalij Kowaljow!
No George London? Oye Vay!
Où est London? Peur qu'il surpasse la concurrence?
Very difficult to compare. Perhaps Hotter, Morris, Tomlinson?...
it's incomplete......it's not got George London in it... -_-
Where are London, Siepi, Hines, Kipnis, Frantz, Reinmar, Christoff and some important others?
Hines is the 3rd one...
Yes. I overlooked him.
And Ludwig Hofmann? Another dark bass who sang Hunding and Hagen, but also did a performance Wotan in the 50s.
proof positive Wotan's boots are nearly impossible to fill. Why such a strained post of the great Morris?! London?!
This competition is null because George London was not allowed to compete. He would have won for sure.
Where Is George London ???
Afro Poli is certanly worth to be mentioned.
My favourites are between Hines and Hotter, wonderful voices and very thoughtful interpretations. Tomlinson also gets a shout for the resonance, and McIntyre for the phrasing. I've heard better from Pape, but I do think he has a warm and beautiful voice. Although I found Morris rather laboured at the end, Stewart a little too agressive(though he sounds fantastic) and don't remember much from Dohmen, the most disappointing was Schorr, he sounded strained and the poor recording doesn't help.
Albert Dohmen, Theo Adam & Donald McIntyre.
Hotter, then Hotter, with Hotter again as third. Then no one else in places 4 to 10, so great is the distance between him and the next Wotan! (like Callas and all the other Normas...) Friedrich Schorr stands in place 11, but not in this 1940 snippet, he should have been caught much earlier. Bockelmann is great too!)
Dim Lian:
Callas sounds like her own old mother or old aunt!
She is the darling and goodess only for gay-men in the world.
I can`t hear a young woman in her voice!
I have experiences in this since 60 years!
Jerome Hines, superb.
Hans Hotter, superb.
George London, missing.
Simon Estes missing, too. - Heinz